Ferroelectric behavior of epitaxial Bi2VO5.5 thin films on Si(100) formed by pulsed-laser deposition

Thin films of Bi2VO5.5 have been prepared epitaxially using a pulsed-laser deposition method on a Si(100) substrate using TiN as a buffer layer and SrTiO3 as a seed layer. The films have smooth surface morphology with atomically flat terraces and steps of 4 Angstrom in height. The ferroelectric characterization shows a spontaneous polarization of 2.2 mu C/cm(2) and a coercive field (E-c) of 22 kV/cm. The leakage current obtained is about 5 x 10(-6) A/cm(2) at a drive voltage of +/- 2 V. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)00111-0].